Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1025 (First Update)

"Pull up the surveillance footage." Tony Stark's face darkened as he repeatedly scrolled through the Avengers base surveillance footage he'd retrieved on his phone on Friday. However, his mind wasn't on the footage itself; it was focused on every word in the video circulating on social media. Even now, he still thought Salomon was too idealistic. His advocacy for a shared future for humanity, for curbing the uncontrolled capitalism of neoliberalism, and for putting it into practice through violence—all of this was immature. Tony Stark gave a wry smile—only a Kamar-Taj sorcerer possessed such a perspective that naturally transcended the barriers of human race and civilization. Now, this "little brother's" immaturity was being used to force the Avengers to make a choice. Although he hadn't found any clues, Tony Stark still felt like he'd been tricked.

He didn't want to comment on Salomon's political platform because it was all too idealistic.

At the end of that article, there was an article published by a group of journalists led by the famous war correspondent Ramish.

In the article, the war correspondents reiterated Latvinia's political stance and used their own photographs of the space station to prove that Latvinia genuinely wanted to lead humanity beyond Earth and possessed the necessary technological capabilities and determination—unsurprisingly, the article was met with unanimous condemnation from Western media. Many Western media outlets claimed that those who supported Latvinia were far-right nationalists. Some even compared the golden eagle flag of the Immortal City to the insignia of the Third Reich, claiming it was a Nazi conspiracy, that Latvinia was a war of Nazi resurrection, and calling for NATO's swift intervention to "maintain justice and peace in the free world." Coincidentally, many far-right individuals supported this claim, much to the delight of Western leftists, who vehemently criticized the video.

There was a need for the Avengers as part of a proxy war, and Tony Stark astutely recognized this.

He had long known this was the outcome of the Sokovia Accords, but this day shouldn't have come so soon, and it wasn't his original intention. He simply wanted the Avengers to have official endorsement. In his eyes, the disputes on social media were just a charade, and the mainstream media's rhetoric was all a prelude to military intervention in the Balkans. Whether the Avengers participated or not, the result would be the same—in the mainstream media's portrayal, Latvia was a naive villain in a comic book wanting to rule the world, a ghost wanting to revive the Third Reich. Defeating such a villain would greatly boost the Democratic Party's chances in the upcoming election and also garner votes for the Republican Party, which had close ties to the military-industrial complex. The political sluts in the White House would definitely not let this opportunity slip by.

However, for the Avengers, if they don't align with mainstream "public opinion," they will fall back into the same predicament Tony Stark has been trying to escape. He has his own way of resolving the aftermath of the Sokovia Accords and preventing the Avengers from being used as proxy wars. He only needs to convince the Avengers to weather a difficult period—he intends to become Secretary of Defense to command the Avengers, which is why he frequently travels to Washington. This is no different from what he's doing now, just a different way of exercising power. If it weren't for the Latvia affair, he would also be confident in persuading Steve Rogers to accept the status quo, because he can guarantee that the Avengers' actions will be limited to combating terrorism.

But things were different now. The worst parts of the Sokovia Accords were about to be applied, all the pretenses torn away, and he had to convince the Avengers to accept this bloody reality. It was difficult, incredibly difficult, Tony Stark thought Steve Rogers's sensitive nerves couldn't handle the truth—he cursed under his breath, shoved his phone into his pocket, and glanced at his watch. Finally, he tugged at his collar, stretched his facial muscles, and forced a smile. "Okay, don't let them see through your act," he muttered as he walked past the Secret Service agents into the meeting room. "You're the one who has the upper hand, genius. Don't let them dominate the conversation."

Thaddeus E. Ross gave Tony Stark no time.

"You're late." General Ross stroked his meticulously trimmed gray-white stubble. For some reason, Tony Stark sensed that the old man was actually quite pleased. General Ross pulled up a frame that looked like it had been taken with a handheld camera. "According to the latest intelligence, Latvinia has launched an attack on Sylcaria and Transylvania."

"Congress will urgently pass an intervention bill, and the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the necessity of intervening in the situation in the Balkans." Defense Secretary Ashton Katz nodded. "Come with us, Stark."

Salomon, stationed at the border of northeastern Latvia with Hungary, received no respite despite the approaching war. While his genetically modified warriors boarded heavy armored personnel carriers and assault transports, he continued working on his personal assault transport, processing the constant stream of intelligence from around the world and various requests from the internal affairs department—the Latvian civil war had ravaged the entire capital, and the department needed manpower and materials for reconstruction, as well as food and fuel to help the Latvian civilians survive the cold nights in the mountains. Even though he had begun systematically procuring necessities like food and fuel from the very beginning of the Immortal City's establishment, these reserves were now dwindling at a visible rate.

Due to the impact of the war and rumors, even the Immortal City's agents on the international market are finding it increasingly difficult to acquire bulk commodities. If these resources are depleted before achieving significant military gains, Latvia will be defeated without a fight.

"My lord," Constantine's voice came through the miniature communication headset. An encrypted document was also sent to Salomon's data terminal, bearing the Praetorian Guard's coded mark at the sender's end, confirming its origin. "Hammurabi has achieved results in Sylcaria; this is his briefing. The leader of the Wild Chapter, Silver Sablinova, nicknamed 'Silver Sable,' has requested a meeting through Hammurabi. Should you refuse?"

"No, let me see her." Salomon continued working on the data panel, the holy sword, as he had just reminded him, resting on his shoulder. His precise calculations and logistical command abilities could help the Latvian civilians and the internal affairs department in the rear solve many problems. He wasn't fighting this war for personal ambition; if he were to plunge those Latvians, who had just escaped their suffering, back into the abyss of misery, Salomon would find it hard to forgive himself. This was the only thing he felt sorry for in this war.

He didn't ask Hammurabi how many genetically modified soldiers and armored units he had lost in the Sylkharian coup, because he knew those numbers were meaningless now. A long period of bloodshed would follow the occupation, and he needed to use his own methods to end the mercenaries and the CIA's attempts to subvert and incite them.

"Victor is not here. I need to speak with Silver Sablinova. The Immortal City doesn't have the resources to fight the counterinsurgency in Sylcaria. The Wild Chapter must take on this responsibility. After speaking with her, I contacted Stephanie Malik and Victoria Hand. We need a team of spies, armed personnel, and clerks to control the situation. Our genetically modified warriors will be the last resort."

"Yes, my lord."

"Also, prepare the space station's missile bays; NATO is about to intervene." Salomon glanced at the messages from Gideon Malik and General Hale. The White House's decisions were transparent to him, and the US military also had his moles; General Hale's daughter, Ruby, was in constant contact with agents in the Immortal City.

"Get the soldiers ready. We will attack Hungary in one hour and aim to cripple all military installations within Hungary within six hours. We will not linger in Hungary; we must strike all NATO military installations in the Balkans before we can stop and accept our allies. Constantine, contact Eric Killmongo and Helmut Zemo. The coup in Wakanda is about to begin, and we must obtain all of Wakanda's technical support and production capacity."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)